In the Shadows
by Bluestar4ever
Summary: Sparkflame is now plotting with the Dusk Cavern cats in order to do something horrible that will threaten the Clans. Will the Clans be destroyed? Or will they be saved? Sequel to Sparkkit's Destiny.
1. Prologue

**Hey guys! So the big secret's out and who knows what'll happen now. **

**There's this weird machine outside at my neighbor's house… o.O It's white, has a hose, and sounds like a lawnmower… Oh, this book begins at least 7 or 8 moons after Sparkflame's meeting. We have some new characters! Gingerfur unfortunately died of greencough though…**

**Breezepaw- black and white tom with sea green eyes, son of Mistfur and Ripplepelt**

**Whitepaw- black and white tom with white paws and chest, also son of Mistfur and Ripplepelt**

**Specklekit- female cheetah with lots of spots, kit of Goldheart and Sparrowfeather**

**Orangekit- female cheetah with yellow eyes, kit of Goldheart and Sparrowfeather**

**Amberkit- male cheetah with amber eyes, kit of Goldheart and Sparrowfeather**

Prologue

"Vinestar!" Sparkflame was in her mother's den, seeing her die at her paws. An eagle had swooped down and attacked her. "No! Don't leave me!" Sparkflame cried, though not loud enough to be heard by her Clan. She'd been allowed to stay with her mother until she died. "I'm sorry." Vinestar's voice was barely a whisper, gasping for breath. "It's my time to die; Dashfoot will make a great leader." Sparkflame shook her head. Her mother, who had given her apprentice and warrior name, was now almost dead. She didn't want to see her like this. "I've always been proud of you. I've led a good life. Now I'll be watching over you in StarClan." Vinestar sighed and grew still. "Noooo!" Sparkflame buried her nose into her mother's pelt.

Vinestar was laid out in the clearing. It was warm that night with a slight breeze. Everyone stood silently, waiting for a chance to grieve for their leader. Dashfoot went first, since she was going to go to the Frost Peak to receive her nine lives. Sparkflame had never been there, but it is the tallest mountain with a peak that's said to have ice and snow on top, no matter what season it is and it's where StarClan comes to meet with their descendants. Petalfrost would be guiding Dashfoot since only the medicine cats know how to get there. Petalfrost stepped out into the clearing. Her eyes were full of sadness. She padded over to Dashfoot. "Are you ready to go?" she asked softly. Dashfoot nodded and got up to follow Petalfrost.

A tail touched Sparkflame's shoulder. She turned around to see it was Spottedpelt. His eyes were heavy with grief and sadness. He wrapped his tail around her. Sparkflame never saw her father so sad before. "It's okay." Sparkflame meowed softly. They stayed like that for a little bit. Sparkflame turned her head towards the apprentices den. She saw her apprentice, Whitepaw looking out the apprentice's den. He and Breezepaw were looking with wide eyes. _Poor Whitepaw and Breezepaw, they barely got to know their leader._ She moved over to look at the nursery. She saw Goldheart and figured she almost never got a chance to get out with her kits. "I'm going over to Goldheart." she mewed to her father. He nodded, and let her go. Sparkflame padded over to her friend.

"I'll watch the kits if you want." she offered. Goldheart looked at her gratefully and murmured into her ear, "Thanks. I'm sorry." Sparkflame just nodded, the camp was pretty quiet, even the kits knew something was different. She padded into the nursery, seeing the kits crouching down, bewilderment in their eyes.

"What happened?" Specklekit squeaked. "Vinestar died." Sparkflame told them, sadness filling her mew. "Oh." Specklekit mewed softly. "Your mother is grieving right now. She'll come back in a few minutes. You can't go out of the nursery right now." Sparkflame meowed. The kits looked depressed. Sparkflame didn't know what to say, but luckily Goldheart came in. "Thank you, Sparkflame, you can go back now. They need to rest." "Okay." Sparkflame meowed and Goldheart rested her tail tip on her ear for a moment. "I know how it must feel." she whispered. Sparkflame didn't say anything, but padded out of the nursery to join her father to sit with Vinestar.

"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather beneath the Highstone for a Clan meeting!" Dashstar yowled the next day when it was almost moonhigh. "We are all saddened by the death of Vinestar. But that is the past and I promise I will make my Clan as strong as ever! It is time to choose a new deputy. I say these words before the body of Vinestar so she may hear and approve my choice. Sunfern is the new deputy of SwiftClan!" "Sunfern! Sunfern!" the Clan yowled. A look of shock flickered on the new deputy's face before she joined Dashstar on the Highstone. "I'm very honored to be SwiftClan's deputy and I promise to work hard as any other deputy." The Clan cheered again and the meeting was over.

**I know it took a long time, sorry. Why is my strawberry jelly orange? I mean I was spreading it and its orange! I have 5 mosquito bites on my left foot… I have another one on my left ankle. And they ITCH! Honestly, I think mosquitoes like my blood type… But yeah, that's what happens when you don't spray bug spray on your feet... So I'll be trying to update regularly with two stories going on. R&R. **


	2. Chapter 1

**It smells like chocolate peanut butter cookies in the house! ^_^ They taste good too! Yum! **

"What're we doing today?" Whitepaw asked, looking at Sparkflame expectantly. Sparkflame stared out in the distance, not hearing her apprentice. Whitepaw tipped his head to one side. "Sparkflame? Hello?" he circled his mentor who snapped back into reality. "Huh? I'm sorry, what?" she asked, heat rising up to her head. "I asked what we're doing today." he meowed. "Oh, uh, battle training!" Sparkflame answered, saying the first thing that popped in her mind.

"Can Breezepaw come too?" Whitepaw looked at her with shining eyes. "I don't know it depends on Pounceclaw." Sparkflame told him. She saw Pounceclaw padding to the apprentices den. "Wait here." she meowed. "I'll see if Breezepaw can come with us." Sparkflame padded over to Pounceclaw. "Pounceclaw, can Breezepaw and Whitepaw practice battle training together?" she asked. "Sure." he meowed. He called Breezepaw and they went out the entrance.

"Okay, we're going to practice partner fighting." Sparkflame meowed. "I'll be a warrior from an enemy Clan, and you'll be fighting me in sync with each other." The two apprentices nodded. "We're in the middle of a battle and you come face to face with Sparkflame." Pounceclaw growled. "What do you do?" "Attack!" Whitepaw yowled and he and his brother charged up to her. Sparkflame dodged easily and swiped at them with paws sheathed. She had an urge to unsheathe her claws but she had to keep them under control. Blazeclaw told her she would be like this. "That was easy to dodge." Sparkflame told the apprentices. "One of you could jump on top of me while the other keeps coming towards me." "Okay." Whitepaw mewed something into his brother's ear and he nodded.

_Whitepaw is the fiercer of the two. He's always excited to train-whatever we do. Maybe… just maybe he could be... _Sparkflame didn't finish the thought.Whitepaw and Breezepaw charged up at her with Whitepaw leaping on top of her and Breezepaw barreling into her side while she tried to shake them off. Sparkflame reared up and managed to throw her apprentice off her back-a little harder than she meant to. He landed roughly on the ground, but got up quickly and raced back to his brother to help. Together, the apprentices swiped and bit her and finally, Sparkflame had enough.

"Alright! That was very good you two." she praised. Whitepaw and Breezepaw ducked their heads, eyes shining. "It was." Pounceclaw came up to them, his yellow eyes unusually glowing. "I'd hate to be any warrior from another Clan that had to face you. You're perfect together." He turned to Sparkflame and smiled. Sparkflame quickly looked away. She did _not_ like him the way he way he wanted her to. Sparkflame couldn't take a mate; she had other things to worry about. The Dusk Cavern, her apprentice, and Pounceclaw has Breezepaw. Couldn't he tell that he was just a friend?"

"We should get back to camp." Sparkflame meowed. "Maybe catch something for the fresh-kill pile?" The four cats padded through their territory, finding prey easily. Breezepaw opened his mouth slightly to taste the air. "I smell vole." He dropped into a crouch and glided along the ground, the vole not expecting him. Breezepaw pounced on it, killing it neatly with a bite to its spine. "Good catch." Pounceclaw meowed.

They came back to camp, each carrying prey. Sparkflame caught a mouse and a hawk. Pounceclaw caught two mice and vole, while Breezepaw and Whitepaw caught two voles each. They deposited their catch on the fresh-kill pile and Sparkflame picked a vole that Breezepaw caught. Pounceclaw came over beside her.

"You're not going to eat your hawk?" Sparkflame shrugged. She didn't want to bother with this tom. "No." she meowed in between bites. "Now go away. I want to be alone." Pounceclaw looked taken aback. "Sparkflame-" "Don't say anything. Just go." Sparkflame mewed quietly. She wanted to lash out at him. Pounceclaw looked disappointed, though Sparkflame didn't know why he was. _Stupid tom, I don't want anything to do with him!_ Sparkflame felt tired. Ever since her mother died, she wanted to be alone. She couldn't see her in StarClan-the Dusk Cavern banned StarClan warriors from visiting her. Though Sparkflame never saw what StarClan was like, she was a little curious. Maybe Blazeclaw would let StarClan talk to her once.

"No!" Blazeclaw growled. "I'm not allowing StarClan to visit you." "My leader and mother died almost a moon ago!" Sparkflame insisted. "You still miss her?" Blazeclaw meowed, not bothering to hide the shock from his face. "I was close to her." Sparkflame growled. "Don't turn soft on us Sparkflame." Blazeclaw warned. "I'm not turning soft! Far from it! I'm experiencing the things you told me about." Sparkflame glared at him. "I have a question too."

Blazeclaw looked a bit interested at this. "Okay, what?" Sparkflame took a deep breath. _Is it right? Should I ask him about Whitepaw? Oh, what does it matter? Just get it over with!_ "I have an apprentice." she began, looking at Blazeclaw who betrayed no emotion. "His name is Whitepaw. He's always excited to do whatever we we're doing." "Apprentices are always like that." Blazeclaw growled. "I know, but he's pretty good when we train. Would he be good for us to-" "No." Blazeclaw spoke quietly. "Oh, okay, I just wanted to know." Sparkflame meowed. He wasn't done yet though.

"I've seen Whitepaw. He'll betray us in a heartbeat. He won't want to help us. He could tell someone-especially since you're his mentor." Sparkflame was amazed. "You could tell all of that?" Blazeclaw narrowed his eyes. "Yes. I know who's good and who's not. I'll deal with the recruiting. You just help with the planning." "Uh, okay." Sparkflame meowed.

Blazeclaw circled her, a glint in his eyes. "There's more you need to learn though. You need to keep yourself under control." Sparkflame remembered when she was training with Whitepaw and when Pounceclaw was annoying her. "Don't give us away. If you can remember that, then you should be fine. You have a lot of power, Sparkflame. Use it well." Sparkflame nodded. It made sense.

Blazeclaw stopped circling her. "We'll need more apprentices. Once we do that, we'll be able to launch an attack. But for now, we must focus on the present. Not the past or the future. We have a long way to go."

Sparkflame woke up early the next morning. It would be the Gathering tomorrow. The first time since Vinestar died. But she couldn't think about the past. She had to move on, like everyone else did. Sunwing poked her head through the warrior's den. "Oh, Sparkflame, why don't you join the dawn patrol since you're up." she suggested. "Okay." Sparkflame replied. She didn't have anything else to do. "I'll go get Whitepaw.

"Why do we have to get up so early?" Whitepaw complained. "Everyone had to do this." Sparkflame told her apprentice. "This won't be your last time." Whitepaw looked on, sulkily. Sunwing's whiskers twitched. "Apprentices. They always complain." Sparkflame felt hot with embarrassment. "Are you referring to me?" Sunwing purred. "In a way, yes. But Whitepaw is a whole new level!" Whitepaw looked back. "What do you mean?" he asked, confused. Sparkflame shook her head, dismissing the conversation. "Don't worry, let's catch up with the rest of the patrol." she meowed, running ahead.

Sparkflame never felt this light and carefree before. She liked chatting with Sunwing. Sparkflame was about to mark a rock when she smelled something. _HailClan!_ Hailstar stepped out into the open. "Sparkflame." he meowed, dipping his head. "We'd like to speak with Vinestar please."

**A cliffie! I love doing that. Hope you're liking it so far! Please review!**

**~"**_**It's a jungle out there.**_**"~**


	3. Chapter 2

**I didn't get any reviews last chapter which makes me sad… :(**

"Vinestar has joined StarClan." Sparkflame meowed curtly. "What do you want?" She didn't care she was being blunt about it. What did it matter anyway? Hailstar's eyes clouded for a moment. "I'm sorry to hear that." he responded. "May I speak with Dashstar then?" Sparkflame gazed at him with narrowed eyes. "Come this way." she growled.

Dashstar was sitting in front of the Highstone with her tail wrapped around her paws. She stood up at the smell of HailClan and saw the dawn patrol come back with Hailstar. "Hailstar." she meowed, dipping her head. "Dashstar." Hailstar answered a bit awkwardly. "I wish to speak with you. Privately." "Of course. Come to my den."

Sparkflame was in the clearing by the fresh-kill pile. She wasn't hungry, but she was wondering what Hailstar came here for-so early in the morning. Perhaps he needed help. But he didn't seem urgent, so that wasn't it. Thoughts kept flowing through her mind when Hailstar exited the den. Dashstar followed, looking irritated, but trying not to show it.

"Leapordpelt, Sunwing, escort Hailstar to the end of the territory." she nodded at the two warriors. Dashstar followed until they got to the entrance. "We'll talk about this at the next Gathering." Hailstar stopped and nodded. "Of course." He turned, and they disappeared through the entrance. Dashstar turned around quickly, and raced up to the Highstone. "Let all cats gather here beneath the Highstone!"

Warriors poked their heads out of the den, looking bewildered. Whitepaw and Breezepaw were confused too, but padded to the clearing and sat down next to each other. Goldheart exited the nursery, and the kits scampered out too. "Can we watch?" Amberkit asked. "Yes, but be quiet." she mewed sternly. Sunfern looked up at Dashstar. "What about Leopardpelt and Sunwing?" Dashstar looked down at her deputy. "You can tell them later." she answered, pacing back and forth on the Highstone.

"Hailstar wants Boulder Crevice." Dashstar stopped pacing. Yowls of protest rose up in the Clan. Sparkflame was shocked and angry. Since when did HailClan need more territory? "Those hawk-hearts! They think they can just stroll into our camp and demand us to give them our territory!" some warrior hissed. "Hailstar's giving me until the next Gathering to decide." she continued. "We're not giving it to them!" This time there were yowls of agreement. "We'll fight for it if we have to. Who's with me?" All the warriors yowled again, and Sparkflame joined in. "Okay, meeting dismissed." Dashstar padded down the slope that led to the clearing.

Orangekit let out a growl. "I'm gonna tear those HailClan warriors to shreds!" Goldheart's whiskered twitched in amusement. "You have to be an apprentice first." she reminded her. "Yeah. You couldn't even face one warrior; he'll tower over you." Whitepaw meowed, joining into the conversation. "Could to!" Orangekit protested. "I can fluff out my fur to twice my size!" Whitepaw purred, barely getting his words out. "You'd look like a scared kit that just saw a hawk." Orangekit slumped down, clearly disappointed. "Don't worry, there'll be other battles." Goldheart mewed gently.

Sparkflame padded over to Whitepaw. "Come on, we're going on a hunting patrol." she meowed, pointing her tail towards Lightningfoot, Mudstripe, and Glosspelt. "Okay, I'll show you battle moves later!" Whitepaw called to Goldheart's kits. Dashstar padded over to the hunting patrol. "If you see Sunwing and Leopardpelt, tell them what Hailstar wanted." she meowed briskly. "Okay." Lightningfoot meowed. "Let's go."

They were hunting by the area that Hailstar wanted so HailClan would know that SwiftClan wasn't going to give it up. Lightningfoot had caught two voles and Glosspelt had a mouse when they picked up the scents of Leopardpelt and Sunwing. The two warriors emerged into sight. "Did Dashstar say anything important?" Leopardpelt asked. "We heard her call a meeting." Sparkflame nodded. "Yes, she said that Hailstar wants Boulder Crevice." Both cats gasped. "HailClan has enough territory." Sunwing hissed. "We're hunting here so HailClan knows we're not allowing them to take it." Lightningfoot meowed. "He's giving us to the next Gathering to tell him our decision. Dashstar said we'll fight for it if we have too." Sparkflame added.

"Good." Leopardpelt muttered. "She's becoming a good leader." Sparkflame had to agree with that. If she was leader, she probably would've done the same thing. "How about we help you?" Sunwing suggested. "Mudstripe and we could go over to the left side and you four could hunt on the right." "That's a good idea." Sparkflame meowed.

The two groups went off. Whitepaw was padding ahead of Sparkflame then stopped. He opened his mouth slightly and then closed it again. "Mouse!" he whispered. A moment later, it crept out into the open. Whitepaw looked at Sparkflame and she nodded. He dropped into a crouch, and began stalking it. Step by step, the apprentice crept towards the mouse until he could leap on it. The mouse was busy gnawing on seeds to notice him. Whitepaw pulled his legs beneath him and pounced onto the mouse. It squeaked in surprise, but it was cut short when Whitepaw delivered the killing bite.

"Good job, Whitepaw!" Sparkflame praised. The apprentice's eyes glowed. "That _was_ good." Sunwing meowed. "Sparkflame's been teaching you well." "Thanks." he replied.

Soon, the whole patrol caught a decent amount of prey. Whitepaw caught another vole, and Sparkflame caught a finch and a woodpecker. Sunwing managed to catch a hawk-with Sparkflame's help, and the other warriors brought down a deer together. They met up with the other patrol which caught a lot too. "We caught enough for everyone today!" Leopardpelt meowed. "Let's go back."

Dashstar was waiting. "Leopardpelt, Sunwing." she greeted. "Did everything go okay?" the two warriors dipped their heads. "Yes, Dashstar." Sunwing meowed. "Good." Dashstar went back to her den. The patrol deposited their catch onto the pile and cats immediately started swarming to it. Sparkflame looked down at Whitepaw. He was so small compared to her. "Go take Tallear something and then you can eat." she told him. "Okay." Whitepaw took the finch Sparkflame caught and padded to the elder's den.

Everyone ate well. The full moon was soon. It had been so long since Sparkflame saw Pebblefur. He didn't go to the last Gathering and she didn't go to the one before that to support Goldheart while she was so close to kitting. Sparkflame hoped she would get to go. It would be interesting to see how the Clans would react to Vinestar's death. She had been told that her mother was leader for a long time. She was close to the leaders.

Sparkflame noticed Whitepaw sitting outside the apprentice's den. "Get some sleep." she meowed. Sparkflame always had to remind him. "We'll be doing a lot of work tomorrow." Whitepaw yawned. "Alright." he mewed. Whitepaw disappeared into the den and Sparkflame padded into her own nest and circled it. She finally got comfortable and let sleep take over her.

**August is a busy month! Sorry! School's starting in a week and I have orientation, finally starting high school! I'll try to update as much as I can, I know I've been saying that a lot, but this time I really mean it! I'm having minimal updating time, so I'm sorry if it takes awhile to update. I like it when people review, so please do! It makes me :) instead of :( So, R&R!**


	4. Chapter 3

**Oh, double chocolate, Oreo ice cream cake is THE best ice cream cake EVER! And that is why I love going to my cousin's house! ^^ Hey! You! The one who's reading this right now. I'm talking to you! Come on, who else would I be talking to, a StarClan cat? Yeah you! ****Hi!**

Sparkflame scanned the crowd for Pebblefur's grayish brown, black spotted pelt. She wanted to talk to him so badly. It'd been three moons since they last saw each other. Sparkflame didn't know what was happening to her. She felt like she needed to hear Pebblefur's voice, to smell his scent, to…

"Sparkflame!" She turned around. Pebblefur was padding toward her, a smile on his face. "It's been so long!" he greeted her, purring. "I know!" Sparkflame responded, a purr escaping her throat as well.

Pebblefur looked up at the leaders. "Did something happen to Vinestar?" he asked cautiously. Sparkflame looked down. "She died." When she looked up again, Pebblefur's eyes were shining with regret. "I'm so sorry." he whispered. "It's okay. I'm over it now." Sparkflame meowed, but then seeing the confusion flooding Pebblefur's face, she quickly added, "But I still miss her a little." That was true. But she tried not to think about. Blazeclaw had told her that there should be no distractions.

Pebblefur nodded. Before he could say something, Sparkflame heard Dashstar's meow. She looked up. Dashstar was standing face to face with Hailstar, her tail tip twitching, then her whole tail lashing. Sparkflame could tell she was trying to keep her cool. "I'm not giving it up Hailstar." she growled. "You gave me until the Gathering and I decided I'm keeping it." Hailstar twitched his ear. "We need it." he meowed simply. Dashstar rose up to twice her normal size. "It's greenleaf!" she nearly yowled. Mintstar raced over to break the two apart, but it didn't help much because she was smaller than the two.

"Dashstar, Hailstar! We mustn't anger StarClan!" she raised her voice to be heard. Dashstar stopped and then turned around. "We shouldn't be arguing over territory on a Gathering." she meowed. Hailstar sighed. "You're right, but mark my words, I'll be coming soon." he growled. The leaders began the Gathering.

Sparkflame woke up to Goldheart's wail. "My kits are gone!" Sparkflame scrambled up from her nest and made her way towards the nursery. _Goldheart sounds more like an old queen instead of a young warrior! The kits are 5 moons old! But she's still my friend. We'll find them._

Sparrowfeather and Sunfern were also in the nursery. Goldheart was pacing back and forth in the den. "I'll go look for them if you like." Sparkflame suggested. Goldheart stopped and stared at her. "You would? Thank you!" Goldheart gave her a worried smile. "Of course, you're my friend after all." Sparkflame replied. "There's no need for anyone to go with me." she added to Sunfern. "We need warriors to do patrols." Sunfern nodded.

Sparkflame padded out of camp and tasted the air. The kits! It was fresh and it seemed to be headed by the Higher Ledges. Sparkflame followed the scent trail and tried not to be worried. They were her friend's kits and she wouldn't want Goldheart to bear the pain of losing one of them. Suddenly, a scent flew by her. _Blazeclaw!_

"Why are you so worried about the kits?" he growled. "They're Goldheart's kits. My best friend's. Why wouldn't I be?" Sparkflame retorted. "Why are you here?" she added, suspicion in her voice. She couldn't see him, but his scent was close by and if he'd been visible, she'd guess that he was walking right alongside her. "I'm here to look for Amberkit. To make sure nothing will happen to him." Blazeclaw admitted. "What's so great about Amberkit?" Sparkflame asked, feeling relief when she saw the kits had veered off from the Higher Ledges, but it faded once she realized they were heading to RainClan territory.

"Amberkit is the one. We need him and then we will be able to attack." Blazeclaw answered. "He has the potential. He is the last one. Amberkit needs to survive!" Before Sparkflame could respond, she could smell the scents of the kits strongly. "They're here!" she exclaimed but Blazeclaw's scent faded away. Sparkflame noticed they were dangerously close to the border. Then she saw them.

Amberkit was leading the group and was proudly stepping onto the border, much to Sparkflame's horror. _There's no reason to be horrified. _she told herself, _I'll just get them, then go home!_ "Amberkit!" she called. "Come back here!" Amberkit stopped and turned around. "Wha-" his mew was cut short just as Shadestripe appeared.

"Kits?" she meowed. She looked up and saw Sparkflame. "Oh, are they SwiftClan's?" Shadestripe asked innocently. Sparkflame growled. Specklekit and Orangekit crouched down in terror, but Amberkit nudged them back to their paws. "Yes, they are what were you doing, sneaking out of camp?" The last part was directed at the kits, and the moment Sparkflame meowed it, she regretted it. Shadestripe padded slowly around the kits. "So you were sneaking off were you? We don't let _our_ kits do that." she sneered. Amberkit was the only one who didn't seem affected by her words.

"We came to teach HailClan a lesson!" he mewed fiercely. Shadestripe seemed taken aback for a moment. "Ha, SwiftClan kits don't even know where the other Clans are!" she twitched her whiskers. Sparkflame narrowed her eyes. Shadestripe was clearly enjoying this.

Amberkit tilted his head to one side. "What are you talking about?" he asked, oblivious to Shadestripe's mocking. She crouched down to meet Amberkit's eye level. "A curious one aren't you?" Shadestripe's sweet tone almost made Sparkflame want to get sick. "This is RainClan. HailClan is all the way to the other side if I remember. But, how do I know, I was never in SwiftClan's territory." Shadestripe looked at Sparkflame at the last part and a jolt of alarm ran through her. _Did she see me? The night I went to see Pebblefur?_ Amberkit looked puzzled. "It is?" he mewed, his voice rising in a squeak. "Yes, little one." Shadestripe meowed still in the same sweet voice.

Sparkflame felt rage course through her. She wanted to pounce on her; she didn't change at all, even when she was announced deputy. Sparkflame looked at Shadestripe through narrowed eyes. "Give the kits back." she growled, picking her words carefully. Shadestripe's eyes widened in surprise. "You don't think I would give them back?" her voice was still sweet and innocent, despite the hatred thrown towards her, coming at her every which way.

"You could be planning something." Sparkflame replied. "I could care less about SwiftClan's kits! They'd be useless to RainClan anyways, and it's not like we steal kits from other Clans." Shadestripe meowed, the sweetness and innocence in her voice gone. "Amberkit, Specklekit, Orangekit! You can come back here now." Sparkflame called. The kits scampered over to the other side of the border. In a low voice, Shadestripe let out a growl. "You better watch out, Sparkflame. Don't think you won't see me again. In fact, it'll be _long_ time 'till that happens." she turned around, and padded away.

**Ooh! That was fun! Ugh, school tomorrow. At least I got a chapter in before it starts. But don't expect anything too soon. I need to see how everything's gonna turn out first. Taking two honors classes and no study halls. Hopefully I won't have a lot of homework! But that's an understatement. R&R!**

_**"It's a jungle out there."~**_

__**Peace, Love, Soccer~**


	5. Chapter 4

**SOUR! SOUR BLACKBERRIES! XP**

**So you know how I said Shadestripe and Lightningstreak were more important in this fanfic? Well, they're about to get even more important-in upcoming chapters. Oh, um, is slitted a word? The third sentence in the first paragraph has it in there. I would love to know if it's supposed to be something else, thanks! **

**At the Dusk Cavern**

Blazeclaw looked around the cavern. Cats from all the Clans were training with their mentors. Volcanostripe was standing in a corner, watching through slitted eyes. "Volcanostripe," Blazeclaw growled, padding over to him. Volcanostripe turned to him, his gaze questioning. "Tomorrow is Amberkit's sixth moon. He will be coming that night. I want you to train him. Like you did with Sparkflame." Volcanostripe looked taken aback at first, then nodded.

"Yes, Blazeclaw." the tiger growled softly. "Good," Blazeclaw swung his head and looked up at the small circle of light at the top of the cavern that lit it up, faint stars showing through. _Soon the Clans won't know what hit them._

"Amberkit, you will be known as Amberpaw. Sunfern will be your mentor." Dashstar named the last apprentice. "Specklepaw, Orangepaw, Amberpaw! Specklepaw, Orangepaw, Amberpaw!" the Clan cheered. Sparkflame was happy for them. Goldheart was able to go back to warrior duties and the Dusk Cavern will get a new apprentice. After Amberpaw was done with training, they would get to planning and the battle would come.

Sunfern padded over to Sparkflame. "Sparkflame, can you show Amberpaw around today?" The cheetah shifted uncomfortably. "I know I should, since it's his first day, but I'm really busy today. Though he does know the border we share with HailClan" she smiled a bit. The Clan found out which got the kits in trouble. They had to clean the elder's den until they reached six moons since they were five moons then. Whitepaw and Breezepaw had their first assessment yesterday so they had the day off.

"Uh, sure." Sparkflame replied. _Maybe I can tell him where he's going tonight._ "Actually, if you don't mind, then maybe you can join me to collect herbs. Leafspot's sorting some out and then Sunfern can do whatever she wants to do with Amberpaw tomorrow." "That'd be great!" Sunfern meowed. "Okay." Sparkflame meowed. _Now how am I supposed to tell him?_ "Amberpaw!" Sunfern beckoned her apprentice over. "You and Sparkflame are going to go along with Petalfrost to collect herbs." she told him once he came over.

"What about you?" he gazed at his mentor. "I have to do some other things but only today. I'll show you all around tomorrow." Sunfern promised. "Okay." Amberpaw nodded. Then he turned to Sparkflame and Petalfrost. "Let's go."

Petalfrost led the way to where she got her herbs. They had gotten cobwebs already and were on their way to where marigold and coltsfoot grew. Petalfrost stopped suddenly. "You two can get the marigold while I'll collect the coltsfoot." Petalfrost meowed. "It's right over there." She pointed her tail to an area about 10 moose-lengths away. Petalfrost padded away. The two cats got to digging.

They had dug up all they could find and Petalfrost was still not back yet. _I can tell him now!_ "Amberpaw." Sparkflame meowed slowly. "I need to tell you something." Amberpaw tilted his head on one side. "Okay." he meowed.

_Where do I start? Should I just begin from when he was a kit?_ "When you were a kit, you were always the adventurous one." Sparkflame began. "You have a lot of potential and I think you'll make a great warrior." Amberpaw still looked at her with confusion. "Thanks, but-" Sparkflame cut him off. "I'm not done yet." she meowed gently. "You see, there's another cat who thinks you're great too." Amberpaw brightened up at this. "Really, who?" he asked excitedly. "Not in this Clan-or in any other Clan. But there's a group of cats in a place called the Dusk Cavern who will teach you as well as Sunfern."

"So I'll have two mentors?" Amberpaw mewed. "Basically, yes." Sparkflame replied. "Will they teach me battle training?" he asked, almost bubbling with excitement. "Yes." Sparkflame meowed again. _Blazeclaw was right! He really does have potential to train in the Dusk Cavern!_ "Yes! So I'll have a head start over my littermates!" Sparkflame purred, then became serious again. "You can't tell _anyone_ about this." Amberpaw looked confused again. "Okay." he promised.

Petalfrost padded to the two cats a few moments later. "Alright, let's go back." She seemed a little hurried. _I wonder why…_ The three cats padded back to camp with Petalfrost a little bit ahead. Sparkflame was behind them, letting thoughts flow through her mind. _What's she so worried about? It's not like a Clan's about to attack us. _Sparkflame let out a little sigh and ran up to catch up with Amberpaw.

Sparkflame stood outside the cavern as usual. The only thing different, was that Amberpaw was with her. Amberpaw looked around, then saw Sparkflame. "You were telling the truth!" he exclaimed. Sparkflame purred. "Why wouldn't I be?" Amberpaw looked down at the ground. "I don't know I-I just wasn't really sure." "Well, follow me; we're going inside the cave. Welcome to the Dusk Cavern."

They padded through the entrance, Amberpaw looking all around. "Why is it called the Dusk Cavern?" he asked. "You'll see." Sparkflame replied. They watched as it opened up to the cavern. Amberpaw let out a gasp of surprise.

"There's a whole bunch of cats here!" he whispered excitedly. Before Sparkflame could reply, Blazeclaw stepped out from the shadows. "Welcome Amberpaw." He dipped his head. Amberpaw looked at Sparkflame. "How does he know my name?" Blazeclaw purred slightly. "I know everyone who comes here. Come with me and I'll explain." He led Amberpaw in the shadows. "You too Sparkflame." Blazeclaw added.

Volcanostripe was already there waiting. Blazeclaw started to speak once they were all ready. "You have been chosen to train with us. We will teach you great battle skills that you can use in fights. Sparkflame has trained with us and I trust you will follow in her pawsteps." Amberpaw nodded. "Good. Volcanostripe will be training with you."

Volcanostripe padded up to Amberpaw. "We'll be starting training now. I want Sparkflame to watch." Amberpaw turned to Sparkflame with worry in his eyes. "I don't know if I can do this." he whispered. "Don't worry, you'll be fine. Volcanostripe trained with me and he'll do a great job with you." she meowed encouragingly. "Okay." Amberpaw meowed.

They padded over by where Sparkflame used to train. "Alright, I'll start off by attacking you and you dodge." Volcanostripe announced. Amberpaw gaped at him. "But I don't know anything about battle training! It was just my first day!" he protested. "Exactly, I need to know your instinct." He started charging at Amberpaw. Amberpaw jumped out of the way, fear in his eyes.

"Don't be afraid! Enemies can smell your fear!" Volcanostripe growled, charging at him again. As Amberpaw jumped out of the way again, Volcanostripe shot out a paw, claws unsheathed, and raked them down Amberpaw's flank. Amberpaw rolled over and lay motionless on the ground, blood gushing out of his wound.

**So, what did you think? Review!**

_**~"It's a jungle out there."~**_


	6. Chapter 5

**I haven't been getting any reviews lately so I'm wondering if my story isn't good… **

Sparkflame stood there watching as Amberpaw struggled to get up. _He's fine. He just needs more training._ Volcanostripe towered above him looking down. "You'll need more training." he growled. "We'll work more on that." Volcanostripe padded away leaving Sparkflame, Amberpaw, and Blazeclaw.

"I'll get Frostberry." he muttered and padded off. "Frostberry? Who's Frostberry?" Amberpaw asked. "She's the medicine cat here." Sparkflame replied. "Oh." Amberpaw looked a little relieved. "You know, you were pretty good out there. You just have to work a little harder." The apprentice looked at her with surprise." "Really?" "Of course, look, Frostberry is coming, now she'll heal you." Sparkflame padded slowly away.

**Two moons later…**

Sparkflame was looking for Pebblefur as usual at the Gathering. But from the looks of it, RainClan wasn't here yet. She was walking around where no other cat was when she saw something move behind a rock. Sparkflame narrowed her eyes. She tasted the air but all the cat's scents were too mixed up for her to know who it was-if it was even a cat. Then a white tiger stepped out from behind the rock and Sparkflame felt anger surge in her chest.

"_You._" she hissed. "Well, if it isn't Sparkflame." the tiger meowed. "Nice to see you here, huh?" he continued. "Don't say another word." Sparkflame growled as she took a menacing step toward him. The tiger narrowed his bright blue eyes. "Oh, I'm so scared!" he mocked her. "That's it Icestripe!" Sparkflame lunged at him. Memories suddenly flooded into her mind.

_**Flashback**_

_Sparkflame was just padding around when she heard a cat whisper her name. She turned around and saw a white tiger pad up to her. "Who are you?" Sparkflame asked suspiciously. "I'm Icestripe, the best warrior of HailClan!" he announced. Sparkflame narrowed her eyes._

"_Then how come I haven't heard of you?" she retorted. Icestripe let out a purr and took a step toward her. Sparkflame backed away, hissing. "Never mind that, follow me." Icestripe's eyes glittered and Sparkflame hissed again, longer this time._

"_No, you're not the best warrior of HailClan, you're not even a proper warrior!" she screeched. "Ooh, tough one aren't you?" he mocked, purring again. Sparkflame gave him a look of disbelief and disgust. "Who _are_ you?" she yowled. "You're a disgusting tom! Stay away from me!" she threatened and spun around and stormed away._

_**End of flashback**_

__Sparkflame took Icestripe by surprise and knocked him to the ground. He started to fight back but was no match for Sparkflame. "Wha-what are you doing?" he yowled. Sparkflame didn't answer. She was clawing at him and tufts of fur littered the ground.

Sparkflame plunged her claws deeper and blood sprayed from his wound. Icestripe yowled again in pain but the noise of the Gathering blocked out any chance that someone might've heard it. Red stained the white in the tom's pelt. When Sparkflame finally stopped, she took a step back to see Icestripe bleeding his life out.

"I won't make you suffer anymore." she whispered and stepped forward. Icestripe looked at her, his eyes glossy. Sparkflame stared at his throat and raised her paw. She unsheathed her claws and struck it. More blood poured and stained the rock beneath him an even darker red. Icestripe tried to yowl again but the blood gurgled in his throat and he lay dead.

Sparkflame stared at him, pleased with what she did. She could hear Blazeclaw congratulate her in her mind. As she looked down at her paws, they were stained with blood. Not her own, she didn't have a single scratch on her. _That was too easy._ Sparkflame licked them until they were clean. Then, without another glance, she padded away from Icestripe and joined the Gathering.

Sparkflame was in the Dusk Cavern. _Again? Do I have to watch Amberpaw again?_ She didn't really want to. She just wanted to rest. No one had noticed she was gone. If they found out Icestripe was dead, which they should've by now, no one would know it was her. She covered up the scene well. There was a piece of rock that was starting to fall off and she somehow managed to pull it off. It had a pointy edge which would answer how he got the slash in his throat.

Sparkflame wasn't really surprised for doing that. _Icestripe deserved to die. He had no place in that Clan. Why did they let him go to the Gathering, let alone keep him in the Clan?_ She was still thinking about it when Blazeclaw prodded her. "You did well." he meowed.

"You saw?" she asked, surprised. "Yes, didn't you hear me?" Blazeclaw replied. "Oh, I thought it was just my mind hearing things." Sparkflame meowed, embarrassment in her mew. "No, you did the right thing, you got rid of a cat who just sits around all day, not bothering to anything!" he growled.

"You're sure no one saw?" Sparkflame asked cautiously. "No one." Blazeclaw assured. "That performance ensured us that you are very powerful and can do anything you want!" Blazeclaw yowled. No one paid attention, they were caught up in the things they were doing. Blazeclaw's voice dropped down into a whisper.

"You can't let anyone know what you did. Especially Lightningstreak." Lightningstreak was in HailClan. "Does it really matter?" she asked. "Yes, even though he was hated by everyone, she or anyone in that Clan can't know." Sparkflame was puzzled. But she didn't question it.

"How's Amberpaw with his training?" she asked, changing the subject. "He's doing very well. As soon as he's a warrior, we can start." Blazeclaw meowed. Sparkflame gave a shudder of excitement. "Does Amberpaw seem to like fighting?" she asked nonchalantly. "Yes, he's pretty confident. Exactly what we need." he answered. "Now go, that's all I needed to say." Blazeclaw left mysteriously into the darkness.

**Hi! I hope I made this one of the longer chapters; they all seemed to be pretty short… Well, hopefully this is good; I'd like some feedback on it! Were you surprised about Sparkflame? Sorry I didn't introduce Icestripe at first, but it would've been kinda hard to. So, please review!**

_**~"It's a jungle out there."~**_


	7. Author's note

**A/N: Hi, sorry this isn't a chapter. I apologize for that, seeing as you probably didn't even expect to see an update for this story.**

**I know, it's been about uh, two years…? *cringes* I'm so sorry about that, but I never got any reviews and reviews are what keep me writing so I gave up. But now I've decided to give this one more try.**

**I recently got a review that said they wanted me to keep going. So I decided that since someone is reading this, I don't want to let them down. I was originally going to try to continue where I left off but as I was reading my story I realized my writing was terrible. I knew I couldn't just go off from there. I'm going to rewrite it. Since this is a sequel, I am rewriting "Sparkkit's Destiny" first. I'm in the process of rewriting it now. I'm not really sure how long it'll take because of school and other things in life. Also, I might take both of these stories down and put them back up again, or I might edit the chapters if I can do that. I know I can and I'm pretty sure I know how, but I don't know if it'll work. I'll try to edit first though (meaning: delete chapters and put the new, edited ones in their place). **

**I don't know if anyone who used to follow "Sparkkit's Destiny" and "In the Shadows" is reading this, but if you are, I hope you'll give me a second chance. Thank you, and I will try to edit my stories as soon as possible.**

**~Bluestar4ever**


End file.
